Seven Devils
by LostCurrency
Summary: Emery Reed was no saint, especially compared to her sister in law. But in the darkness of the Murder House, she just might be the savior Tate Langdon needs. Tate/OC
1. I Don't Need People

**Hey Guys!**  
**This is a teaser of a new story I'm working on, one to get rid of all my Third Person Feels. (TPF) **

**It's an AHS story, Tate/OC. This is a story about a girl, her brother and sister in law who buy the house the morning before Violet and company, thus never giving them the chance to live in the murder house. So, basically Season One Rewrite. It _Definitively_ won't be an OC insert, trust me.**

**X**

* * *

Emery Reed sat in the back seat of her brother's crisp new Prius, a purchase that was the result of Emery's sister in law, Charlotte. Charlotte was pristine, gorgeous, and quite frankly _**piss tired of Emery**_.

Of course, that wasn't something Charlotte would ever admit to either of them, Although Emery already had a good grip on her sister in law's feelings for her. Emery couldn't even really blame Charlotte for it. She was a train wreck, and with a shitless personality that nearly caused Charlotte to not marry Ryan. And if Charlotte had known she would be on a permanent road trip down the coast for dear Emery, she may have opted out of dating Ryan completely. But, now that the knot it tied, nothing would cause Charlotte's christian upbringing to divorce.

Except for maybe, 'The Murder House'. Charlotte could see why it appealed to the deranged teen so much, Emery had nearly murdered her father months before, thus springing this much needed move.

Emery claimed that it was a good enough of a reason to stab her father, the fact that he had let her mother die. But to Charlotte, Emery was as good as damned. And yet, Ryan loved her out of the bottom of his heart. Charlotte couldn't see why, but maybe some time during those therapy sessions, He learned more about his sister's mental status more then what Emery ever showed Charlotte.

When they arrived at the so called 'Murder House', Emery jumped out of the forsaken Prius as if it was on fire. She stretched her whole body, doing a few yoga posses she had learned in the psychiatric ward. Charlotte scoffed at this as she got out of the passenger seat, looking at Emery in disgust. Emery had shed her sweaters on the ride, and now all scars were visible on her wrists, making Charlotte cringe.

"Put a sweater on, Ems." Ryan said politely to Emery as he got out of the car and came around to the passenger side. Emery groaned at this, hating the idea that her brother felt the need to hide _her_ past from everyone. She however did as she was told, but when they approached the house she quickly rolled up the sleeves.

Ryan knocked on the door, his other hand wrapped around his gorgeous wife, Charlotte. Emery was behind the sickeningly cute couple, wishing she could gag. The door opened and the ginger realty agent.

"Welcome!" She said politely, showing a stiff and forced smile. Ryan and Charlotte smiled back, which Emery simply nodded to her acknowledgment. "My name is Marcy, and I can not wait to show you around the house." Marcy opened the door, letting Charlotte, Ryan and Emery into the old house. "It's a classic L.A. Victorian house, built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars at the time." Marcy began, as she led the trio down the hall. "It's just fabulous. These are real Tiffany fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners really loved this place like a child. They restored everything." At this Charlotte cringed.

"We are considering living in a house owned by gays?" Charlotte hissed quietly yet viciously to Ryan, who gave her an apathetic look while Emery scoffed.

"Homophobe." Emery muttered under her breath as she pushed past Ryan and Charlotte, to hear more about the house.

To be frank, Emery was already sold on the house. The moment they got into sight Emery just knew this was the house to live in.

"Do any of you cook?" Marcy asked as she led them into the kitchen. Emery smiled, making sure her brother was in view of this iconic smile- a smile he hadn't seen in months.

"Yes, I like to bake." She Emery said as she looked around the refurbished kitchen lovingly.

Ryan saw this smile, a smile that no doubt be used later as a bargaining chip to get this house, and smiled at his sister, patting her on the back. A smile was a smile regardless of the motives behind it, and after these long months he was just happy to see some expression of emotion that wasn't anger.

"You said there was an office too?" Ryan asked, diverging his attention to Marcy. She smiled and nodded.

"You're a psychologist, right?" Marcy asked, causing Ryan to nod.

"I was hoping to work closer to home, to be with my wife and sister." Ryan explained, reaching his hand out behind and grabbing Charlotte's who shared a loving smile with him at the gesture. His other hand, which was still resting on Emery's shoulder was shrugged off by her.

"Can I look around?" Emery asked, looking from Ryan to Marcy. They both nodded, Marcy giving a more hopeful nod, desperately hoping they'd take the house.

Emery took no delay in looking around after she was nodded out. She slowly walked up the stairs, enjoying the sound of hardwood floors underneath her converse. The house felt alive to her, and something about that concept made Emery feel more alive than she had in a long time. She slowly walked down the corridor, looking into the opened rooms but not fully investigating them yet. No, she'd do that later, when the house was officially theirs.

And she was going to do everything in her power to make sure it would be.

Emery finally made it to the final room on the second floor, the bathroom. She smiled when she found it, an actual genuine smile. It was white, reminding her vaguely of her time at the psychiatric ward. But it also had a gorgeous large white footed bathtub. Emery carefully got into it, laying herself down inside of it.

She closed her eyes and sighed, totally content.

"Emery!" Ryan yelled, startling Emery awake. She glared at the bathtub faucets at the sound of her brother yelling, but made no delay in getting out of the tub and running to the stairs to reply. After all, she'd need to be on her best behavior if she was going to get the house.

"Yeah?" Emery replied loudly as she made her way down the stairs. Once in view of Ryan she was sure to smile.

"What do you think?" Ryan asked just as Emery approached the final step.

"I love it so much." Emery replied, quickly looking behind Ryan to see Charlotte still talking to Marcy in what appeared to be the living room.

"Doesn't it give you this weird sort of vibe?" Ryan asked, only to get the response of Emery's glare. "Yeah, Charlotte is a little concerned." Ryan explained further.

"This house makes me happy, Ryan." Emery explained, expression growing darker. "Do you not want me to be happy, Ryan?" Emery continued. "Do you want to drag me to some lifeless house so I can live a lifeless existence while you're around, and slit my throat on the lifeless rug while you're away?"

Emery knew she struck a cord in Ryan with that. He quickly shook his head no, and turned his body half way to look over at Marcy. "We will take it." Ryan said, causing Emery to smile and Charlotte to frown.


	2. Flickers

Marcy had let Ryan and Charlotte sign the mortgage papers while she called her next appointment for the house, the Harmons. She explained to them that sadly the house was no longer for sale, but there were other houses she would love to show them when they arrived. The Harmon's weren't particularly happy about this, but the agreed to meet Marcy at a ranch style house in the Valley.

Emery Reed, however, was absolutely floored. It hardly took any negotiating at all, and her brother fell like a house of cards. She immediately started unpacking, choosing the smaller room in the second floor as her own.

Normally, she would be opposed to having two windows in her room, but for some reason it suited this house, and she'd make due with it.

After an exhausting day of unpacking, Emery decided to sit in the living room. She laid on the couch, looking at the horrendous wall paper that the last owners had put up. It needed to come off, soon.

"Hey, Ems." Ryan said as he came into the living room from the dining room. Emery smiled weakly at this, her gaze not moving from a piece of chipping wallpaper on the wall in front of her.

Ryan continued walking toward Emery, ignoring her lack of acknowledgment. As far as Ryan was concerned, this was the most lively Emery had been in months, and he wasn't about to rain on her parade. Even Charlotte forgot her anxieties of this house when she saw how cheap it was.

Although Charlotte still couldn't quite shake the idea that a murder slash suicide happened in this very house. It was however easy to shake from mind while cooking dinner in the pristine kitchen.

Emery got up from her position on the couch, not necessarily ignoring her brother as much as curiosity as to what was behind the wall paper.

Ryan ignored this, and sat on the couch that Emery had just vacated. "So I was thinking, maybe in a few days you could start going back to school?" Ryan asked, looking at the back of Emery's head as she slowly picked at the wallpaper. He didn't need to see her expression though to know she was glaring, the simple head tilt said it all. "I know you don't want to, but you will get bored of being in this house all day. No matter how much you love it. Also, I'll be seeing my first patient tomorrow and after that it'll be full speed ahead." Ryan explained.

"Who's your first patient?" Emery asked, finally pulling her attention from the wall paper and turning around to look at her brother. Ryan smiled, shaking his head.

"Patient confidentiality, Ems. But he's your age, maybe he can be your first friend." Ryan said, raising an eyebrow at Emery and smiling. Emery smiled back at this and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, set me up with your crazies why don't you." Emery huffed, her smile not fading.

"Crazies like other crazies." Ryan teased, causing Emery to stick her tongue out at him. Ryan laughed at this. "I'm glad your smiling, Emery."

Emery ignored this, knowing it was Psychological babble. Instead she pushed her attention back to the wall paper behind her.

"Can I take this wallpaper off?" Emery asked, starting to pick at the wallpaper again. Ryan chuckled and nodded, although he was aware that Emery wasn't paying attention any longer to him.

* * *

Tate Langdon knocked on the door of the Murder House, ready for his appointment with Ryan Reed. I resisted the urge to tap his foot in annoyance at the family for taking their time getting to the door.

He had actually seen the family last night, not like he would ever tell them that. Not yet, at least. Tate was surprised by one girl in particular, Emery Reed. She was in the room that was once his, a long time ago.

It was almost as if she could see him, if not then at least sense him when he wasn't supposed to be seen. That confused him, but also drew him closer.

Tate was surprised when it was actually Emery who opened the door. Emery was dressed in a tank top and leggings, hands red from working wall paper off in the living room. Tate smiled at her, trying not to stare at her in awe. Scars adorned her wrists, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to show his or cover hers- either way, he was unable to form words.

"Do I need to show you to the office or do you know where it is?" Emery asked, realizing afterwords that _of course_ she'd need to show him. How else would he know where it was?

"Could you show me?" Tate asked, smiling weakly. She returned the smile.

"I'm Emery." She introduced herself, but didn't put a hand out to shake. She instead opened the door further, letting Tate in.

"Ryan, your psycho is here." Emery yelled right when Tate entered into the hallway. This made Tate cringe, worried she already hated him. Emery didn't notice this however as she closed the front door and walked towards the stairs.

Ryan made his way down the stairs, hoping Emery hadn't already scared away his first appointment. He smiled when he came into view of the two teenagers.

"Don't worry Tate, I doubt your crazier than her." Ryan teased, causing Emery to sneer.

"Yeah, better watch out. I stabbed a guy once." Emery hissed, more towards Ryan than Tate. Ryan frowned at this, and looked over to see how Tate reacted.

Tate however was smiling down at Emery. "Well, I'm Ryan Reed. I'll show you to my office." Ryan said, changing the topic and hoping to divert Tate's attention off of his sister.

"I'll see you around." Tate said, still looking at Emery. She looked at him and smiled, then shrugged before walking back into the living room, determined to take off more of that disastrous wall paper.

Tate watched her leave, a mixture of lust and a feeling unknown to him brewing inside of him.

* * *

Charlotte Reed was outside, happy to be away from Emery while also enjoying the beautiful California weather. Washington hardly ever had sunny days, and Charlotte was determined to not let any of the sun go to waste. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise to either Ryan or Emery when Charlotte grabbed a hamper of wet sheets and went outside.

Charlotte carefully flung each sheet over a line of string, making sure each sheet had no crinkles before she put a couple of clothespins on it. She was sure to take her time, considering it was either this or going inside and watching Emery piss around the living room and take off wall paper. Charlotte thought the wallpaper was fine, but when she learned that the _gays_ had put it up, she also agreed it needed to be taken down.

Charlotte turned around, about to grab another sheet from the hamper when she noticed an old women walking around the house towards her. Charlotte smiled at her, wondering what she was going there. Charlotte was quite drawn back by the sight of her eye, noticing the white glimmer over it. Reminding herself it was sinful to think vain of others, Charlotte hoped her smile hadn't faltered as she readjusted herself.

"Hello" Charlotte said to the older women, who smiled back.

"Hello, I am Moira. I'm the maid of the house." Moira said, thus explaining her presence in Charlotte's backyard.

This confused Charlotte. She wasn't aware that there was a maid that belonged to the house, but she shrugged it off. Ryan did have the money, a large sum actually. That's what happens when someone with a large life insurance dies. That person being Emery's and Ryan's mother who had passed, leaving it all to both Ryan and Emery.

"Why are you hanging your sheets? There's a perfectly good electric dryer in the house." Moira asked, motioning to the house. Charlotte smiled at this.

"I wanted to get out of the house. Besides, I love being closer to god's creations." Charlotte explained, hoping she gave off the correct vibe.

"I work Monday through Thursday, Thanksgiving on, Christmas off." Moira stated, causing Charlotte to nod and smile.

"Well, Welcome aboard. I'm assuming you have a resume? No offense." Charlotte said, mentally cringing when she mentioned a resume. She wanted her good faith to show, but she couldn't help but be worried that Moira could be a felon, regardless of her soft old lady appearance.

"I can bring one with me tomorrow. Could I come in for now? My cab is gone and I need to call for another." Moira asked, not in the slightest taken back by the idea of bringing a resume.


	3. Cold Cold Water

**This chapter is a little weird. It's technically day two of the Murder House, leaving off exactly where the last chapter was. This is all shadowing Emery, though. It shows kinda how deranged she is. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, so here's to hoping it'll come out soon.  
**

* * *

Emery Reed wiped her forehead. There wasn't any sweat there, but it felt good just go have her arms no longer over her head. She had gotten rid of some of the wallpaper, and she couldn't help but smile at the sight before her. The mural that was hidden below the wallpaper stunned Emery. It depicted death and what she could only assume was dancing with the devil.

Throwing down the scraper onto the couch, Emery vacated the living room to grab a water bottle from the kitchen. Once in the kitchen however she was greeted by Charlotte and an old woman, whom Charlotte introduced as Moira.

Emery began to smile politely at Moira; trying to please Charlotte. She stopped momentarily however when she blinked and saw Moira as a young women. Blinking again, Moira became once again an old lady. Emery stopped in her tracks, shifting her view away from the two women and outside.

This didn't help Emery's growing sense of seeing things that weren't there, however. Instead she saw a man, half burned. He wore a hat, to shield his face from anyone trying to gain a peak, and his arm was hunched close to his body. Taken aback, Emery jumped. But another flutter of the eyelids proved her sanity, for the man was gone.

"Emery." Charlotte's shrill voice rang in Emery's ears, causing her to snap out of her trance. She instead looked over to see a curious Moira, and a disappointed Charlotte. Charlotte sighed, exhaling loud enough for her annoyance to come across to Emery, but not loud enough to alarm Moira of their dysfunctionality.

"Oh shut it Charlotte." Emery hissed, glaring at Charlotte as she composed herself. Not even bothering to wait for a response from Charlotte or grab water, Emery stalked out of the room.

Emery felt good, the kind of good that made her question everything. It made her itch and tingle in all the wrong ways. She quickly walked through the house, stopping at the door leading to her brother's study. Her hand reached up, her mind daring her to knock on the door and disturb her brother.

But out of the tiniest corner of her mind, the bathroom was calling for her. Speaking sweet nothings in her mind, she closed her eyes, shaking. Fighting her urges she knocked on the door, only to proceed and open it a moment later.

She had completely forgotten about the boy she had welcomed into the house earlier, and to her surprise he was on the couch. Unsure why this surprised her, she stared at him for a moment, their eyes locking.

"Is everything okay, Em?" Her brother asked, his voice reminding her that he was also in the room. She exhaled, looking back at the boy, Tate. Except he was no longer just a boy, he was painted as a skeleton, hair slicked back. She looked back at her brother, who seemed to not notice this difference.

"Fine." Emery mumbled, taking one more look at Tate, to see he was back to normal. She closed the door, retreating to the bathroom.

* * *

Emery sat in the bathtub as it slowly filled with water. Emery didn't notice this as she was transfixed by the two women beside the tub, both dressed as nurses.

Emery wondered if they were dead, but this question was never voiced. Instead she continued to stare at them, noticing how even after blinking they were still there. She wasn't sure if it was them or herself who turned on the water, although she was curious as to why she was still wearing clothes.

The water was teetering on the edge of overflowing, Emery's mouth now covered under the liquid. She could still breathe through her nose, and she exhaled slowly.

"If you're going to drown yourself, you should probably close the door." A smooth voice broke Emery's fixation on the nurses, and she looked over at the door to see Tate there. She ignored this, and looked back at where the nurses were, to see no one. Emery inhaled, sitting up in the bathtub.

"If I was going to kill myself, do you really think I would do it while my brother and Charlotte were in the house?" Emery rhetorically replied, draping her arms on the edges of the tub.

Tate chuckled at this, slowly walking into the bathroom. He walked over to the end of the tub, turning off the faucets. Emery smiled, staring into the water.

"So what's your deal?" Emery asked, looking up to see him crouching at the edge of the tub, staring at her.

"Do you trust me?" Tate asked, his arm coming up and resting on the siding that Emery wasn't occupying.

"I don't know you." Emery stated, their eyes refusing to leave the others.

"Do you trust me?" Tate repeated, his arm leaving the siding and coming closer to Emery's body.

"I don't know you." Emery repeated, but her body showed no signs of fear of Tate's extending arm.

His hand very gentle pushed Emery farther in the water, and she dislodged her arms from the siding of the tub, allowing herself to become more immersed with water. She carefully instead placed her hand on his elbow, their arms interweaving. Her eyes remained open as her face sunk below the surface.

She stared at Tate from below the water, her vision foggy and blurred, as she held her breath. And after moments of being underwater, the thought that this was a bad idea had yet to cross her mind. Not even after she blinked, and once again saw him as a skeleton.

Slowly, his push loosened into a pull, and he was dragging her out from below the water.  
She gasped as her mouth reached the surface, finally able to breathe again. Her grip on his elbow tightened, but only slightly.

She looked down momentarily as the droplets of water fell from her eyelashes. When she looked back up at him she saw a very slight smile on his face.

His arm moved away from her, and instead grasped her elbow in his hand as she had his. As he stood up Emery felt herself being lifted up as well. Once they were both standing, Emery looked down at her soaking clothes.

"Meet me in my room." She said to him, her voice barely over a whisper and yet he seemed to hear her perfectly as he nodded. She let go of his arm and he mimicked her action, slowly walking backwards to the door, still staring at her. Once he got to the door he closed it behind him, his eyes finally off of her.


	4. Look to Me

**So here's the next chapter. This one has more Tate/Emery goodness.  
Also, be sure to check out my tumblr I made just for this story. Its EmeryReed, the link is on my profile. **

* * *

Charlotte was completely embarrassed by Emery. Although Moira didn't seem to mind one bit by the erratic and completely rude behavior Emery had just displayed, Charlotte wanted to scream. Breathing deeply, Charlotte flashed Moira an apologetic look. Moira reciprocated the look, slightly aiming her body so she could point to the stove top.

"Would you like me to make you some tea?" Moira asked politely, taking in Charlotte's stressed behavior as a cry for it to be reduced.

Charlotte nodded, walking around the bar table to sit on the other side of it. Moira started the kettle, and excused herself to call the cab. Once Moira came back into the room, they resumed their conversation about the care of the house.

* * *

Ryan made his way down the stairs, exhausted from his first appointment with Tate. Tate reminded Ryan very much of his sister, Emery. So when Tate asked if he could talk to her after his appointment, he couldn't help but agree.

Ryan trusted Emery with men, as long as they weren't her father at least. Besides, her getting knocked up would be the least of Emery's issues. The range of medicine she was on was like a medical cocktail, and as long as she was taking those as long as her appointments, he was extremely hopeful that her recovery would continue.

He prescribed some medicine for Tate too, and maybe Emery can help him by telling him about how much of a pain it is but how much it can help. It would be like those friends she made in the psych ward.

Ryan was startled out of his wishful thoughts by the sight of a young woman. She was beautiful, with long red hair that was placed in a eloquent bun. What surprised Ryan the most was her maid uniform.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Ryan asked as his feet hit the floor of the main level. She turned to him and smiled.

"I'm Moira, I'll be your maid." Moira responded, curtsying slightly.

Ryan was about to continue questioning, when Charlotte came into the hallway. She smiled at the sight of the two together. "Oh good, you've meet each other. Ryan, this is Moira and she will be working for us. She knows loads about the house, having worked for the people before us." Charlotte said as she walked up to Ryan.

"I can start Thursday." Moira stated, looking back at Charlotte. Charlotte smiled and nodded.

"Great. We'll see you then?" Charlotte stated questioningly, looking to her husband for any sign of disagreement.

"See you then." Ryan agreed, letting Moira who was looking at between the two to smile back and nod before walking to the front door.

* * *

Emery walked into her room after having changed into a dry pair of leggings and a large short sleeved shirt. Tate was sitting on the floor crossed legged, leafing through Emery's tiny sketch book.

In the hospital, the doctors convinced her to sketch whatever was bothering her so she wouldn't hold it in. She found it a good way to divert her anger for Charlotte by drawing explicitly.

Tate looked up momentarily as Emery walked into the room, noticing how she had closed the door behind her. He looked back down at one image in particular, and waited for Emery to sit down in front of him before he asked about it.

"Who are these two?"

Emery smiled as she looked down at the drawing. It was of two young boys; twins to be exact. They had died brutally, if they had lived at all. "I thought I saw these two boys in the kitchen last night." Emery explained as she carefully brought her hand out to the sketch book, and slowly dragging it out of Tate's reach. He didn't question her actions, and instead watched her as she turned to a new page and stuck her hand under the bed, grabbing a pencil.

"Do you normally draw dead people?" Tate asks, looking at Emery's face as she starts a new sketch.

"Do you normally baptize people?" Emery rhetorically throws back at him, momentarily looking up at her drawing to see his reaction. He smiles at this and looks down at his lap, nodding as if to admit the silliness of the question. Emery sees this and smiles, her eyes going back to her drawing.

"Why did you move here?" Tate once again pushes for conversation, looking back to Emery's face.

"I wasn't joking when I said I stabbed a guy." Emery said, exhaling slowly at the end of the sentence, slightly fearing a bad reaction as she refused to look up to gauge his reaction. What she didn't see was a smile on Tate's face.

"Why did you do it?" Tate asked, trying to push the smile back off of his face so she wouldn't notice if she looked up.

"He let my mother die." Emery whispered; stopping her sketch as she briefly was pushed back into the past.

"I got kicked out of school." Tate stated, causing Emery to jolt out of her memories and smile.

"Yeah, me too." Emery said, picking her sketch back up where she left off.


	5. Medicine

**Hey, so yet another chapter posted. I'm on a crazed roll, kinda. Anyways, hopefully there will be another chapter within the next few days. Hard to say cause my sister came over and messed up my sleep schedule from creature of the night to day walker. But anyways, as I said before I have a tumblr, and the gifs I'm making for this story are great. There's a link in my profile.**

* * *

Tate left a few hours later, around the time that Charlotte called for dinner. Emery was sad to see him go, and went to the dinner table in a bad mood.

Her mood only slightly improved when she walked through the living room, enjoying the mural. She knew Charlotte hadn't noticed it yet, because if she had Emery would've heard a screech echo through the house.

Sitting down at the table and starting to eat, she avoided the sight of Charlotte. If Emery made eye contact with Charlotte, she would immediately take that as a sign to communicate with her, and Emery already had her daily dose of Charlotte.

Ryan however, was a different story. He plopped himself down next to Emery, and ignored all Emery's classical signs of not wanting to communicate.

"So, you and Tate have a good time?" Ryan asked, watching every move Emery made for any sign of issue with the subject at hand. Instead, he was greeted with a smile creeping onto Emery's face as she continued looked down at her food.

"He really seems to understand me." Emery commented quietly, her eyes never leaving her plate.

"So what's his deal, then?" Charlotte questioned between chews of her salad, looking across the table to Emery and Ryan. Ryan sighed, and placed his hand on his forehead, waiting for the fight between the two women to begin.

Emery settled her hands on her lap, stopping her eating. Her eyes slowly rose from her plate as she aimed her glare at Charlotte. Charlotte, momentarily taken aback by Emery abruptness shrugs at the teenager and then directs her own gaze to Ryan.

"Patient confidentiality, Char." Ryan states calmly as he rubs his forehead and continues to look down at his plate.

"I am eating in my room." Emery hurriedly says as she begins to leave her seat, grabbing her plate and silverware as well. Without a chance for either Charlotte or Ryan to disagree, she storms out of the dining room.

* * *

The rest of the dinner went quite well for Charlotte. Without Emery at the table, Ryan and Charlotte could converse freely. Ryan lightly jested her for hiring the maid, and Charlotte teased him for only having one patient so far.

Charlotte was so relaxed that she decided to do the dishes and then relax in the living room, where Ryan adjourned to after dinner. Placing the last few dishes in the dish washer, she closed it with her foot and then strolled into the dining room and then the living room.

She entered the room to see Ryan relaxed on the sofa, Emery's renovation tools on the side table. Smiling at the sight of her husband laying on the sofa with a book, her eyes diverted to the work Emery had done today. She had no sooner seen the mural than a scream erupted from inside of her.

Ryan hardly budged at this, knowing exactly why she had screamed. He instead placed the book down on his chest and sighed, looking up at Charlotte who now had her hands placed over her heart, as if that would soothe her.

* * *

Emery had woken up the next day wishing she was dead. That was her typical reaction to the idea of leaving the house though, let alone for something as horrid as school. What's worse is that she didn't even get to see Tate at school.

Not even bothering to turn off her alarm, she instead opted for placing her pillow over her head and hoping her brother would just let her rot in her bed. Her hopes faded quickly as the sound of a knock on the door was heard.

"Go away." Emery mumbled into her pillow, but it was either ignored or unheard by her brother who opened the door and came inside.

"Rise and shine Emery." Ryan greeted as he walked to the window closest to the door and opened the blinds, letting rays of bright light into the teenagers' room.

"Fuck off." Emery mumbled, this time slightly lifting her head up to speak and then plopping it back down.

Ryan laughed at this, rolling his eyes and making his way over to her alarm clock. Laying his hand down on the mp3 playing clock, he was about to press the off button when an arm jolted out of the comforter and a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Don't." Emery said as she let go of his wrist, her arm retreating. At the sound of Ryan's chuckles she turned her head and slowly propped herself on her arms, letting the pillow fall of her head and onto the floor.

"I know you think you're not ready to go to school Ems." Ryan paused as he watched Emery rolled over to sit up farther in bed, her legs falling out of the covers and dangling off the edge. "But it's now or never."

"I choose never." Emery venomously replied, stretching her body and diverting her gaze from her brother.

"Well look, Tate knows you're going to school right?" Ryan started, watching carefully for Emery's slight nod. "I bet he'll want to come over when your home and let you complain about school to him. And obviously if you don't go to school, he can't come over." Ryan finished with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Are you bribing me with friendship?" Emery asked, raising a brow at Ryan. He chuckled at this, nodding his head.

"At this point I'm just glad I have something to bribe you with. The fact that it's friendship is simply a plus." Ryan stated, shrugging and smiling down at his little sister.

Emery didn't comment, and instead got out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom. Her hair was a long tangled mess from the impromptu bath yesterday, and as usual she couldn't care less. Opening the medicine cabinet, she grabbed the bottles of medicine and opened each one, spilling out the required daily dose and placing the tablets in the palm of her hand and then closing the bottle. She closed the cabinet, the pills still in her hand to see Ryan's reflection in the mirror, leaning against the doorframe.

She sighed heavily at this. He always insisted on watching her take her medicine just to be sure. Momentarily placing the pills on the counter she grabbed a cup and filled it with cold tap water. Scooping the pills back into her palm she turned to face Ryan, both pills and cup in hand.

"Depression." She stated dryly as she shifted her hand so two oval shaped capsules landed between her fingers and showed them to Ryan, who nodded. She threw the two capsules in her mouth and quickly washed them down with the water. "Panic." She stated, mimicking the same action as before but with one smooth colored capsule. There was only one pill left in her hand, and she looked down at it. "Hallucinations?" She stated questioningly, looking back up at Ryan. He nodded, and with that she threw the last pill in her mouth and sipped the water.

Ryan appeared content with this display and smiled before turning around and leaving Emery to get ready for school. But what he didn't notice was that she hadn't swallowed that last pill. And she wasn't intending to.


End file.
